The Northern Caucus of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has dismissed allegations that the Federal Government’s passport centralisation policy is intended to marginalise Northern Nigeria, insisting that the reform is a nationwide administrative measure aimed at enhancing service delivery and security.

Addressing journalists in Abuja on Thursday, the students’ body described reports linking the initiative to regional discrimination as baseless, misleading and politically driven. It urged Nigerians, particularly those in the North-East and North-West, not to be swayed by what it termed misinformation and propaganda surrounding the exercise.

National Vice President (External Affairs) of NANS, Sadiq Zango, who spoke on behalf of the caucus, said the briefing became necessary following concerns and enquiries from passport applicants and other stakeholders across the affected northern states.

According to him, the transfer of passport personalisation to the Central Personalisation Centre in Abuja does not prevent passport applications, processing or issuance at any Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) passport office or at Nigerian embassies and consulates abroad.

He explained that the exercise is part of a broader modernisation programme by the NIS to improve the security, integrity and efficiency of Nigeria’s passport issuance system.

The caucus noted that the implementation is being carried out in phases, with the first three phases completed between February 2025 and 2026. These phases covered passport offices in the North-Central, South-East and South-West regions, excluding Lagos, as well as 41 Nigerian diplomatic missions across Africa, Europe, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East and Oceania.

It added that the fourth phase, scheduled for August 2026, will extend the programme to passport offices in the South-South, North-East and North-West, including Calabar, Port Harcourt, Uyo, Yenagoa, Bauchi, Gombe, Jalingo, Yola, Farm Centre Kano and Dawakin Kudu Kano.

“It is therefore incorrect to claim that the Federal Government is using this process to disenfranchise the North or any other part of the country,” the association stated.

NANS further explained that the new arrangement centralises passport booklet printing and security personalisation at a secure, high-capacity facility in Abuja, a move expected to reduce passport production time to about two weeks.

It maintained that passport offices nationwide would continue to receive applications, process requests and issue passports without disruption.

The association also said the reform would minimise manual interference in passport personalisation, reduce document fraud, strengthen accountability and guarantee uniform quality and enhanced security features in Nigerian passports.

Reaffirming its confidence in the Nigeria Immigration Service, NANS commended the agency’s technology-driven reforms, saying they are in line with international best practices. It also appealed to residents of the North to remain calm and ignore rumours capable of creating unnecessary anxiety.